Leukotriene B4-12-hydroxydehydrogenase (LTB4DH) is characterized as a chemopreventive and tumor suppressor gene. The aim of this study was to investigate the pharmaco­logical induction of LTB4DH and potential anticancer activity. Using HepG2 cells as a cellular detector, we successfully isolated the active compounds from the herbs Radix Astragali and Radix Paeoniae Rubra through a bioactivity-guided fractionation procedure. Using various analytical techniques including electronic spray ionization-mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), gallic acid (GA) was identified as the active compound from Radix Paeoniae Rubra whereas the active compound from Radix Astragali, designated as RA-C, was also purified to the extent that it is now suitable for further identifi­cation. We found that the active compounds from these two different herbs synergistically induced LTB4DH expression in a dose- and time-dependent manner. A key finding was that commercial GA in combination with purified RA-C attenuated the focus formation and anchorage-independent growth, two indexes of in vitro oncogenic transformation, of HepG2 cells via the induction of LTB4DH expression. Moreover, the combination of GA and purified RA-C significantly induced G2/M cell cycle arrest in HepG2 cells. Our results demon­strated for the first time that GA and purified RA-C suppress the in vitro oncogenic transformation of HepG2 cells via the induction of LTB4DH expression. Importantly, pharmaco­logical induction of LTB4DH represents a potential alternative strategy for the therapy of hepatocellular carcinoma.

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